Definitely one of the best tactical shooters ever made, along with SWAT 4. Now let's hope they add SWAT 4 to Steam!

Best tactical shooter ever made! Even better than SWAT 4 because the AI in SWAT 3 is much better. That's saying a lot because I love SWAT 4. Buy it, even if it's not on sale.

Don't be put off by the Mixed reviews....most of the negative ones are made by people that can't get it to run on Windows 10 and that refuse to spend 15 seconds to search for a solution. Just Google it...or better yet, I'll link my guide at the bottom of this review. There, now you have no excuse not to pull the trigger (pun intended).

SWAT 3 has what ♥♥♥♥♥♥ watered-down modern shooters lack....depth, story, and real tactical planning. You have full control over your squad and as touched on before, the AI is impecable. Path finding is spot on, and your team's ability to actually pull off your commands only adds to the immersion factor.

The graphics are actually quite good, especially for a game released originally in 1999. The "Last Resort" mod makes it look even better. I actually favor the graphics in SWAT 3 over the new modern wax figure look. The locations are amazingly detailed and well thought out (stellar level design). The audio is a standout too....even has epic music, which you wouldn't expect in a squad based shooter.

I just can't say enough good things about SWAT 3. It's got a reputation for being the best tactical shooter still to this day for a reason. If you like run & gun, run amok, multiplayer cluster ♥♥♥♥♥....then stay away. Battle Royale this is not! But if you like strategic planning, lethal force as a last resort, and commanding a squad (5 or 10 man teams) then SWAT 3 is for you!

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=937035975

A+ artificial intelligence for first-person, tactical, close quarters simulation. If you're sick of playing with goons and goofy bots from other FPS games, here is the cure. The AI is the best that I've experienced.

Physics is well modelled. Ricochet, material penetration, jacketed hollow point effects, full metal jacket effects, wall bang, push doors, escalators, door breach, etc.

Downloads:
SAS_REALISM_MOD_V1.4.zip
SWAT_LAPD.zip
vi_deadly_force2.zip
Last_Resort_Setup_v074.exe
dgVoodoo2_54.zip
Swat3_XVID_movies.zip

Settings:
Hard difficulty.
1ms AI reaction time.
Windows XP SP3 compatbility mode not needed.
Replace all old .avi files with new Xvid codec .avi.
1920x1080, 16-bit resolution.
"-nointro -handsup"
Enable SAS realism, LAPD skins, deadly force 2, last resort, dgVodoo.

I wish this could have:
- 1-click online multiplayer feature instead of work-arounds
- Modern HD textures/graphics

I'll write more about this later.

But seriously though, this is the best tactical shooter in the history of men, at least among the CQB ones! Yes, even better than the incredible SWAT 4. Don't be scared of it's clunky UI and outdated graphics, because this is certainly the game which deserves to be finished. The AI of your teammates alone is some sort of black magic! Friendly bots scan every corner, shoot very accurately and proceed with disciplined caution - they are indeed useful, however, not overpowered. Swat bots even mark every breached room with a lightstick and correct your reports to command center on the fly. That is the reason why SWAT 3 is actually better than the 4th one, which can be pretty common opinion among some die hard fans. Yes, as a gothic operator i absolutely miss enviromental storytelling in SWAT 4, it's grim New York locations inspired by the movie "Seven", unique personalities of the team members, user-friendly UI, more gameplay options, etc., but the 3rd installment excels exactly in what the 4th one could have done better.
Here's another example, for unknown reason Irrational games removed highly useful feature from SWAT 3 - 2 phases of assault. When you press a dedicated button your AI squad can instaintly switch from Stealth mode to Dynamic mode. A killer feature (no pun intended), because once you've changed the siege style you and your team will move quicker, list of avaliable commands will change to suit aggresive tactics and, most importaintly, your partners-in-law will shoot suspects on sight, but the AI is so remarkable that they won't just insta kill everyone even then, they use force only when there is no other option.

You can split your team of 4 members to red or blue couple. In-depth in-game menu with detailed list of contextual commands is what makes the experience constantly fresh. Sadly, this feature is much better utilized in SWAT 4. You will simply need to get used to multiple order buttons here and a clunky UI. Confusing as hell at first.

Enemies are dangerous too. Eventhough they are less dynamic and won't roam from room to room like in SWAT 4 they are at times even more focused and won't hesitate to pick the best defense option against you - a.k.a hostage.

Of course, this game is too old, but not a tad obsolete. It uses 16-bit color palette plus there can be other unforseen issues. Take a note about these fixing methods:

• https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=937035975
  
• https://steamcommunity.com/app/560370/discussions/0/3062995463263825909/
  
• https://steamcommunity.com/app/560370/discussions/0/3119273879022263103/

Also not everyone was fond of pacifistic rating system in SWAT 4 which forced you to use pepperball gun/taser/less than lethal shotgun against suspects to achieve the best score possible. That is not an issue with this game. Though i still liked that extra layer of gameplay depth in SWAT 4, what i appreciate about the 3rd one is it's straight forwardness when it comes to goals. You don't even need to clear the entire location if some additional civilians were left, because mission briefing is always based on some sort of goverment reconnaissance without extra civs - you know, the ones who could have been ended up in this place by accident. SWAT 3 won't punish you severely for not being a scout boy or complete pacifist just because you forgot to bring in your pepperball gun, while sniffing evidence cocaine, you - idiot sandwitch of a cop! But you can play as different officers and get a medal as an award, so there is still something to master, not to mention sheer game design lack of bottom: NPCs will appear in random places each time like in SWAT 4.

Aside from some tricky workarounds to make the damn thing boot up, SWAT 3 is out of major flaws, only some minor ones. Firstly, i can't understand why my boys are wearing these weird motorcycle helmets. Never seen any kind of tactical protection like this. The game contains extra skins by default or you can apply various mods for them, but they are not presented in the main campagin. Morever, you can complain about limited amounts of content: not many weapons, only a few customization options. Also worth mentioning that, unfortunately, the community lacks Discord server, so it's hard finding some partners for coop (you can message me though).

What's also cool about the game is the ability to change reaction times for AI via main menu. GOTY edition provides a few neat mods, like proper SWAT uniforms and even a 10 man campagin. Frankly, the 2nd team of 5 psychopaths with fogged up motorcycle helmets will be controlled by AI, however it's pretty useful to send them on another infiltration point. You can even hear their reports to command center on your radio frequency.

Overall SWAT 3 is undeservedly forgotten masterpiece. This game do what it aims for with laser focus. The AI, the complex level design, the amount of tactical options, the variety, the fair challenge, the methodical gameplay - you name it. SWAT 3 to tactical shooters is what Thief to stealth-action games. No execuse not to play, if you are a sucker for such sort of games. By the way, there are lots of great mods. Helps to forget about her...

• http://induktio.net/swat3/COOP.html
  
• https://www.gamepressure.com/download.asp?ID=72669
  
• https://www.moddb.com/games/swat-3/addons/page/6#downloadsbrowse
  
• ht tp://www. mediafire. com/file/m2b4oqg3ntbq2jn/Blue Light. zip/file

Swat 3 is a game that was (still is) ahead of it's time. This is a game that was made in coorperation with actual LAPD SWAT police officers. Which means tactics and arresting the suspects is primary thing and not guns blazing like today.

It's a slow, clear room by room, throw tear gas to incapacitate suspects, yell at them to drop their weapons so that you can arrest them. This is from the game that was made in 1999 !

Today with outdated graphics will be a no-go for players. Which is ashame since they will not find any game like this out there. There is SWAT 4 of course which may attract some to try but sadly, it's not on Steam.

Abiltiy to silently breach door or plastic explosives for dynamic entry? Also combiend it with flashbang or tear gas? You just can't imagien until you play it. Above all, AI of your SWAT members and enemies are really damn good, you get felling that you are playing with real tactical players and not some stupid AI. As I said game with it's gameplay was and still is ahead of it's time.

Since this was one of my first PC games (it was DEMO version at first) in combination with Rainbow SIx games. Even today i would rather play realistic tactical game than CoD/BF/Fortnite game. It's one of those game, defined my gaming taste back then when I was 10. Sadly I have not found any game like this, only SWAT 4 is like this but lacking some elements. Oh, swat 3 also as COOP mod!

In order to play SWAT 3 these days, you have to use mods:
To be able to start/run this game on windows 7/8/10/+ you will have to use new ingame videos: Swat3 XVID Movie Updates
http://www.mariachimaestro.com/NewSwat3Reunited/request.php?24

For better resolution and overall less stuttering on latest GPU/Windows, run game through last resort mod:
http://www.swat3lastresort.info/index.php/download

To fix FPS issues, install dgVoodoo2.
Instructions:
https://www.swat3lastresort.info/index.php/fix-framerate-problems

Download page:
http://dege.freeweb.hu/dgVoodoo2/dgVoodoo2/

Dont listen to anyone who says that SWAT 3 can't run on Windows 10. Follow Nightbreed's walkthrough and in no time you will be playing the great classic. See attached link for walkthrough.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=937035975

All credit to Nightbreed for making this possible!!!

great game, install the last resort mod and dgvoodoo2 and it runs flawlessly

Here's another classic game in need of a remaster.

The sheer tactical depth of this game, guys. Seriously.
I don't care if it's 2018 - if you are fans of hardcore tactical challenge, buy this game and get the Last Resort mod. You'll have to tweak a little bit for compatibility with Windows versions older than Vista, but it's worth it.
No game was able to give you this level of tactical depth so far, not even Swat 4, which is ruined by a worse AI than its predecessor.
I'm talking AI keeping seriously smart corners, moving with painstaking precision, being reactive like a highly trained officer. Suspects will camp in smart areas, will retreat, regroup and try to get around you. Hostages will panic, and either flee or get on the ground. But it goes deeper: you need to study the planimetry and intel on tango gear, decide entry points for one or two teams, pick smart loadouts with different types of ammo and other gadgets; you the need to report people you down or restrain for trailers to intervene while you sweep further areas.
I mean, come on.
The challenges you face are low in polygons but high in core realism.
Audio is also a plus: radio chatter is functional, atmospheric and mostly not too invasive.
It's all very rough around the edges, but if you consider that this game was first sold in 1999 you just can't wrap your head around it.

Note on time played: I played this game since I was 10, and I recently bought it again. Also, Steam won't compute the time I'm spending playing in Last Resort.

A masterpiece of tactical police simulation, SWAT 3 is one of the best shooters ever made and is one of the swansongs of the classic Sierra. If you ask me, it's even better than SWAT 4.

It'll take some tinkering to get this to work well in widescreen on a modern operating system (but Last Resort has you covered), but it's worth the hassle - this is a fantastic game which does not hold your hand, does not allow Rambo run & gun to go unpunished and will challenge your strategic abilities. Must-play.